Gratis: Fly Swatters, Frisbees and Food for Thought

By WINNIE HU

Published: May 28, 2006

Or how about a fly swatter to chase away the bugs, or a pedometer for power walking in Central Park? They are all free for the taking, courtesy of the City of New York.

If Memorial Day weekend is traditionally the beginning of summer, it is also a sign that the season of the freebies has arrived again. At beaches, street fairs and farmers' markers, city workers will be handing out thousands of toys and gadgets emblazoned with socially conscious messages like ''No littering'' and ''Conserve water.''

City agencies are increasingly relying on these giveaways to carry their messages into communities, hoping that the larger meaning will stick long after the items lose their appeal. This summer alone, there will be city-issued beach bags, pocket Frisbees, sand pails and shovels, computer mouse pads, bingo games, and wristbands, in at least three colors, inspired by Lance Armstrong.

But the freebies are only part of the picture. At a time when city agencies are being given broader social responsibilities, many of them are employing classic marketing and advertising strategies to reach an audience that is often young and distracted. The result can be a slick campaign that seems more Madison Avenue than municipal government.

The Sanitation Department's new anti-litter campaign -- ''Stomp Out Litter'' -- features a television commercial and print ads with the cast of ''Stomp'' wielding brooms and dustpans. The $105,000 campaign was paid for from donations to the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City.

''Gone are the days of just giving out a bumper sticker that says 'The world is a better place,' '' said Vito A. Turso, a deputy sanitation commissioner. ''We all have our own messages to get out. When you come up with a creative way of telling it, people will listen.''

The Parks Department has asked an advertising agency, Berlin Cameron United in New York, to develop an ad campaign to promote its parks this summer. The agency is donating its services.

In March, parks officials recruited lifeguards for the city's beaches and pools by setting up sandboxes with lifeguard chairs around the city, including in Columbus, Union Square and Central Parks, and at the St. George ferry terminal.

The lifeguard campaign, which also included print ads and public service announcements, prompted inquiries from 5,200 people, more than double the number from last year. Of those, 1,100 people took the lifeguard test compared with 500 the year before.

Adrian Benepe, the parks commissioner, said that his goal was to ensure that the city's recreational resources were being used, whether that meant recruiting enough lifeguards to open all the beaches or just encouraging people to exercise in the parks, especially given the rise in diabetes and other preventable illnesses.

''It used to be the attitude that we build the park, we open the park, and people will come to it,'' he said. ''Now we have a social obligation to get people to the parks.''

So the agency will host ''Step Out New York City,'' a walking program across the five boroughs, for the second year. To encourage participants, park officials will give out thousands of pedometers donated by Pfizer. Green plastic bracelets embossed with a leaf will be offered to those in other fitness programs.

Peter N. Golder, an associate marketing professor at the Stern School of Business at New York University, said that while city government may have just discovered such marketing and advertising strategies, they have been widely used elsewhere in society. ''It's more of a business mentality, and when it's applied selectively and appropriately, it can be the best use of the budget,'' he said.

Mr. Golder said there was nothing gimmicky about handing out freebies as long as the agencies followed up by collecting data to evaluate the effect of a particular campaign, since ''as a taxpayer you would want to know that it's really working and the money is not being wasted.''

Some city agencies have found that even small efforts are paying off.

The Department of Consumer Affairs publicized a tax credit for working families this year through palm cards, a recorded phone message by Bill Clinton, and a billboard display outside Yankee Stadium from opening day until the mid-April tax filing deadline. The city's 311 information line received more than 20,000 calls about the tax credit compared with 6,600 calls last year.

The Housing Preservation and Development Agency plans to roll out its ''Handy Van'' at street festivals and block parties this summer to promote its home-repair classes. The van, which is owned by the housing agency, was equipped with a kitchen, bathroom and living room at a cost of $50,000 paid through corporate donations.

Neill Coleman, a spokesman for the housing agency, said that housing workers would now be able to give live demonstrations rather than merely passing out pamphlets.

One of the city's most successful marketing campaigns has been a joint effort by the federal and city environmental agencies, along with the sanitation and parks agencies, to clean up the beaches and waterways. The campaign, ''Clean Streets Clean Beaches,'' has helped reduce the amount of debris in the city's waterways to 858 tons last year from 1,098 tons in 2003. It has also inspired similar campaigns elsewhere.

The beach campaign grew out of a 2001 marketing study commissioned by the city environmental agency that conducted focus groups on littering and found that teenagers were most likely to be culprits.

Since then, the agency has spent $50,000 a year on a campaign that dispenses thousands of free items designed to appeal, among others, to teenagers.

Some of the most popular are beach bags, sand pails, pocket Frisbees, MetroCard holders and plastic bag clips. New this year are kites and calculators that say, ''In the Big Apple, it all adds up!''

Charles G. Sturcken, a spokesman for the Department of Environmental Protection, said the promotions have turned into a year-round effort that includes fly swatters during West Nile virus season and pop-up sponges picturing SpongeBob Squarepants during droughts. Pot holders and kitchen towels are also given out at restaurant trade shows to remind the industry not to put grease down the drain.

''We wanted to get our message out in the street, and not just sit in an office somewhere,'' Mr. Sturcken said. ''People think the environmental message is important, and they want to see it promoted. It's a good-government thing.''

The display of freebies attracted a crowd in no time at the Union Square greenmarket last Wednesday. As passers-by took the sand pails, sponges and other items, Mr. Sturcken and his staff had to remind them to pay attention to the printed conservation messages.

''Who doesn't love free things in an expensive country like the United States?'' said Maria Vorobieva, a charity worker, who took away two sand pails. ''Free, be my friend.''

Cyndi Powell, a videographer from the West Village, also eyed the sand pails for several minutes before finally asking for one. ''Can I have a blue bucket?'' she said. ''You know what? I'll even pick up litter when I go to Brighton Beach.''

Photo: Charles Sturcken, right, and others from the Department of Environmental Protection gave away items in Union Square Park last week. (Photo by Don Hogan Charles/The New York Times)